Dandelion
by DaggerLy2
Summary: "Do you love someone, Tai?" "I'm afraid so." Tai uses a dandelion flower to see if the person he loves feels the same way about him. (Taiora short story, Complete!)
1. Part One

"_Well, that sounds like a girly thing to do."_

"_Don't be stupid, Tai."_

**Dandelion**

Summer break was finally here, allowing for Tai and Sora to spend a day at their favorite spot – a place no one knew of but them. It was a little ways behind the summer camp they both attended years ago (or, rather, attempted to attend until they were whisked off into the DigiWorld). The camp was rather ordinary, but if one had ventured just beyond the little orchard the camp was near, a grassy field that spread for miles would have welcomed anyone with open arms. It was perfect – no buildings, no annoying kids who'd scream obnoxiously, and, most importantly of all, some space to practice some soccer moves in privacy. Sora had discovered it one day when she had run away from home when she was younger.

_"I used to come here when my mother and I would fight. I just kept walking and walking until I returned to where our Digi adventures started… but there were people around so I kept walking even further and found this … haven. Now I just come here whenever I want to get away from … everything. You can't tell anyone, okay?"_

"_I'm going to tell everyone right now."_

"_Tai!"_

"_I'm just kidding! It'll be our secret." _

And so it was the first day of summer break when Tai and Sora returned to their spot once again. Tai liked the idea of them having a secret no one else knew of, but he'd never tell that to a soul out loud. They arrived at noon, having raced each other by biking. If they had been kids, Tai would have taken their little competition a bit more seriously, but now he always let Sora finish getting there first – only by a few seconds so he wouldn't completely tarnish his reputation – just so he could see her smile (_Not that it really matters to me, _Tai would always tell himself, but he was never able to resist the urge to smile back when she'd rub it in his face that she was number one).

"Geez, Sora. You must be cheating or something," Tai called out to Sora, pedaling towards her.

Sora turned around, brushing back her hair after a gentle breeze picked up. "You're the one who's too slow," she teased, laughing as he began to rant on about how he was "just tired today" - his usual excuse.

Tai jumped off his bike, reaching over to his backpack to pull out a soccer ball. "Here! Since you're so fast, catch this!" Tai began to dribble the soccer ball away from her, starting out slowly and then transitioning into a sprint as Sora chased after him. "Tai, you jerk! Don't catch me off guard!"

They both laughed as they began to run across the grassy field. The sun was out, but it wasn't too scorching hot – a few clouds peeked over the mountains, but they weren't nearly close enough to be any threat for rain. Butterflies seemed to be following them. It was the perfect atmosphere in the perfect –

"TAI! STOP!" Sora shrieked.

"Huh—What-!" Tai turned around, causing him to lose focus on the soccer ball. He took one large step forward – mistakenly _onto_ the soccer ball – resulting in him slipping sideways towards the ground, pummeling nearly face first. His body hit the ground hard, causing his goggles to fly into the air. His head began to pound, a strange noise was ringing inside – but Tai's first thought was to see what had happened to Sora. He immediately forced himself up, ignoring the pain.

"Sora! Sora, what's wrong? Are you okay? What happened?" Tai limped to Sora's side, panting.

"Tai! I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed. "Are _you _okay?"

"Why are you asking if I'm okay?! Why did you tell me to stop?"

"Oh, well, um – there was a dandelion on the ground and you were about to run over it with the soccer ball."

Tai almost fell to the ground once again, flabbergasted. "You mean I almost broke my face just now because of some stupid flower?"

"I know, I'm sorry, Tai. That was really dumb of me," Sora said apologetically. Tai sighed, smiling a little because he knew no one else but her would do something like that in the first place. Too caring as always, that Sora.

"My big hair protects me from all sorts of injuries. It's okay," Tai joked. "I'm a man."

"Are you sure you're okay? I feel so bad." Sora stepped towards Tai, gently wiping some dirt off of his nose, causing his heart to skip a beat.

"Positive! Now mind telling me why this dandelion was worth the trouble of almost destroying me?"

Sora walked over and bent down to the dandelion's level. It was a single dandelion seed head, something rather common and annoying back home and at school. The strange thing was that their secret place had always been spotless from weeds, mushrooms, and dandelions, until now. What was even stranger was that it was the _only _dandelion in sight, pure white and full of seeds.

"It's really dumb. I don't even know why I told you to stop – it just came to me," she said quietly. Tai followed her lead, bending down next to her and staring at the dandelion.

"Okay, so can I take my revenge and step on this thing now?" Tai asked. He was only half kidding.

"There's an even better way of seeking your revenge," Sora stated, smiling over at Tai.

"Wait, are you serious? Because if you are, do tell!"

"You can blow it."

Tai looked at her suspiciously, and then back at the dandelion. He did a double take once again, finally focusing on Sora after a few moments. "Okay, you've got me," he said, confused. "What?"

"You've never blown out a dandelion before, Tai?" Sora asked. Whose right it was to be confused was up in the air, as they both seemed surprised at the other.

"No, never. I always liked stepping on them when I was a kid," Tai confessed. Sora rolled her eyes.

"They say," she started, "When you blow out a dandelion's seeds and manage to make all of the seedlings fly off on one try, the person you love loves you in return. It doesn't count if you blow on it more than once, though." She smiled, sheepishly fixating her eyes at the ground. "I liked to make wishes on them when I was little."

"And did your wishes come true?"

"It feels like it."

"And do you think the person you love loves you back?"

"Well, I did blow off all the seeds every time, but I can't answer that just yet."

Tai nudged Sora with his elbows, making her giggle and almost lose her balance. She adjusted herself and sat with her legs crossed on the ground now. She motioned for Tai to sit next to her, which he did almost too quickly. "Oooh, so you liiiiike someone, huh?" Tai teased, continuing to nudge her. "Sora and her lov-er sitting in a tree! Who is it?"

"Oh, whatever, Tai! That secret's safe with me!" Sora exclaimed, tickling him in the stomach, his weak spot. He burst into laughter, pulling her hand away from him. Then, she tugged the dandelion from its root, lifting it up from the ground and handing it to Tai. "Come on, you try."

"Well, that sounds like a girly thing to do."

"Don't be stupid, Tai."

Tai gave in, accepting the little dandelion into his hand, knowing Sora wouldn't let him leave without him agreeing to do this. He was a little curious anyway. What exactly would it mean for him if those seedlings all blew off? He wasn't exactly sure who it was he loved. Okay, scratch that – only one person had come to Tai's mind at first when it came to that stuff. A matter of "who?" wasn't the question. It was more like what to _do _with these feelings toward that person - that was all confusing to him. His curiosity about the dandelion was tugging his heartstrings.

"Okay. I mean, I _guess _– just for you, and whatever happens in our secret spot, stays in our secret spot. What if I've got all that I would wish for, though?"

"Then let's see if the person you love loves you back," she said quickly. Upon realizing how intense her tone was, she softened up. "Do you … love someone?"

Tai paused for a moment, avoiding eye contact with Sora, until finally he admitted, "I'm afraid so."

"Oh," was all Sora said. After a few seconds of silence, she added, "That's nice, Tai." She turned to him, putting on a stern face. "Go on! Blow it out."

Tai put the dandelion in front of his face, squinting at it as it were an enemy. "You almost broke my face, Dandelion. Now prepare to meet your doom."

Sora rolled her eyes, smiling. "Come on, Tai."

For a second, he almost hesitated. _What if she doesn't love me?, _he asked himself, but immediately shook off that thought. _This is lame. I won't let a dandelion beat me again. _Tai closed his eyes and blew at the dandelion as hard as he could in one breath.

At just the right moment, the breeze picked up again, carrying the strands of dandelion seed heads along with it, until it looked like a tiny hurricane of seeds were dancing in the air, flying to freedom.

Only one seed head remained on the dandelion.

He let out a soft sigh. It was a stupid idea in general, but it didn't stop him from feeling his heart sink a little. Sora didn't say anything. She stared as the dandelion seed heads floated away, carrying all of their thoughts, wishes, and curiosities along with them.

* * *

**Author's note: **This was originally intended to be a one-shot, but I liked how it was going so far and I feel like I would have too much to write to fit it all in just one chapter, so this is going to be a very short story! _Possibly_ up to three chapters at the most, but the next chapter could also easily be the last, depending on how it turns out as I'm writing it XD. x_X I do hope you all like how it's turning out so far, though! _Please_ review! I would appreciate any sort of feedback. You can even tell me if I shouldn't continue with this story, haahha (that'd be an extremely sad ending though, no? :/)


	2. Part Two

**Dandelion  
**_Part Two_

"Well… that… was…" Tai was desperately thinking of what to say to hide his disappointment, but to no avail. "…a fail. I guess I'm going to have to grow up forever alone with Neko and a dozen other pet cats." His attempt to lighten the mood didn't make the silence any less awkward. Sora remained soundless once more, intensifying the atmosphere, as if it could not possibly get any worse as it already is. He turned to her, trying to make out what she could possibly be thinking with her expressionless face. "Hey, no big deal. Who needs that stuff anyway?" The silence was slowly but surely killing Tai.

Sora leaned back to lay on the grass. She spread out her arms and legs, as if she were about to make a snow (or, rather, grass) angel. Tai took her lead and laid down next to her, staring up towards the sky. Some clouds had shifted over from the mountains to overlook their secret spot, looming over their bodies and slowly heading over towards the city.

"It's just… " Sora began. Her voice was hushed, as if she didn't want anyone to hear her even though no one was around to eavesdrop. "Nothing. So who's the lucky girl?"

Tai scratched his head, giving the sky a puzzled look. "Who says she's lucky? I'm the lucky one." He smiled to himself, thinking of the possibility that Sora may feel the same way. Who needs dandelions and wishes to make things happen? Still – Tai had felt this way about Sora for a long time now, and it never seemed like she returned the feelings at all. Even with wishes at 11:11PM, coins thrown in a fountain, and now blowing on a dandelion flower, nothing had changed with Tai's relationship with Sora.

_Wait a minute. _Tai bolted upright, startling Sora. She frowned, thinking – for a second – that he was going to leave her, until he said, "You know, we – or, well, I – can't just keep wishing or wondering for something to happen between… this girl and me."

Sora raised her eyebrows. "I thought you said you had everything you wished for already?"

"I thought I did, but I realized… I always subconsciously do these things. I mean, you know, making wishes at 11:11 at night… tossing a coin into a wishing well, that sort of thing. Okay, yeah, I know that sounds lame – and by the way, what happens in our secret spot, _stays at our secret spot _– but I'm just now realizing none of that is any use. We're living in the real world. Wishes don't just come and go as we please, no matter how often we try. Things only happen if you _make _it happen."

By now his heart rate was going off the charts. It was skyrocketing out of control. _Am I really going to tell her how I feel… right here, right now? _Tai was desperately trying to make sense of what was happening. He knew this day would come eventually, but he had always feared what the result of his confession would reveal. _If she doesn't feel the same way, it's over. But… I have to take action myself. It's clear that nothing would happen if I didn't say anything. Having _something _happen instead of nothing – I guess I'd rather take that anyday. _"Sora, you said it felt like your wishes had come true. What were they?"

She sat up, staring into Tai's eyes with both such a happy and sad look, that Tai didn't know what to make of it. "Just… I don't know. I wished for my relationship with my mother to get better, and it did, but –"

"Because _you _made that happen. Remember how you used to think she didn't love you? And then you realized it was all just a misunderstanding, and that she really _does _love you? She was just looking out to protect you, and once you let her in your life, your relationship with her has been better than ever. I've seen it. You're so much happier than you used to be at home. Okay, what else?"

"Well, I … I wanted to pass all my classes with A's… I wished for that so badly…"

"Are you kidding me? You're saying you passed because of some stupid wishes? Sora, I've _seen _you practically live at the library, studying your butt off for our exams! Do you remember that time you got mad at me for forgetting to tell you that the teacher canceled the test that you almost pulled an all-nighter for?"

Sora giggled, giving Tai a gentle shove as she was recalling that night. "Yeah, stupid Tai… and the thing was that you were _with _me while I was studying for that test."

"Weren't you wondering why I wasn't studying?!"

"I just figured you were pulling a typical Tai."

"Hey!"

They both laughed, taking in the slight gust of wind that blew their way, and soaking in the rays of the warm sun. The mood had definitely lightened up, and Tai was glad to see that Sora was finally smiling again. However, it never left his mind that he was going to tell Sora how he felt about her… eventually. Possibly soon. Or –

"Now… Sora, I need to … ask you something. Not that it matters to me or anything, but this person you thought of whenever you blew out the dandelions… you said all of the seed heads flew off, but you've been single this whole time I've known you," Tai said, carefully choosing his words. He added, "Unless you have a secret boyfriend that I don't know of."

Sora shook her head, embarrassed. "I guess I was wrong. That was just wishful thinking, too. The truth is, I have no idea how he feels about me, but I'm content with my relationship with him now. I've always been too afraid to do anything because I don't want to ruin what I already have with him." Her face had flushed into a light pink now, and she turned to Tai. "Do you know what I mean?"

Tai smirked, laughing at the very idea in his head because that was exactly how he had felt about her.

"Sora, that's the story of my life. I've always had the crest of courage, and I feel like I can take on anything _but _this stuff. It's funny – when I blew out the dandelion, I was really hoping all of the seed heads would fly off so I would know if you felt the same way about me, but -"

He froze. _Did. I. Really. Just. Say. That. Out. Loud?_

Tai mentally slapped himself – multiple times. _That's certainly one way of confessing, I guess. WHY AM I SO STUPID? _He didn't even want to look at Sora, so his gaze focused on the mountain he saw in front of him, beyond the secret spot's endless field of bright green grass. _Don't look at her. Don't look at her. Don't look at her._

He gave up, looking at her after what seemed like an eternity.

To his surprise, Sora was smiling. He flashed a grin in return, sheepishly rubbing his head. _This … is a good sign, _he thought. _I mean, at least she doesn't look absolutely horrified or disgusted. Or maybe she is on the inside and she's just trying to be nice and not show me that she _is, _in fact, grossed out by me._

"Look, Sora," Tai began. He was searching for the best way to approach this awkward situation, with three options that immediately popped into his head.

_Option A: Pretend that she was the one that misheard me and deny anything and everything she tries to say. "Tai, you like me?!" "What? That's crazy! Oh, look, a squirrel!"_

_Option B: Run away, lock myself in my room for the rest of summer break, and never return to the outside world (unless going to the bathroom was necessary – oh, and if I need to eat). _

_Option C: (The least desired option). Just go with it and tell her the truth._

Tai was mentally kicking himself, knowing which option was the one he had to take.

He gathered up all of his courage. If he could save the world multiple times from evil Digimon, then he could definitely tell a girl how he feels about her. Before he could begin talking, Sora moved her hand over his, placing it right on top.

"Tai… did you really think of me when you blew out the dandelion?" she asked.

_I could easily go with option A right now. No! Come on, Tai! Make magic happen._

"I… did…" he answered, hesitating, but then shaking off the fear. "After all of this time, I've realized… that I really like you. As more than a friend. As more than my _best _friend. We've always been more than friends, always less than lovers…but I want so much more … with you. Unless, you know, you don't feel the same way about me, which would be totally cool with me—"

She leaned into him, pressing her lips against his, and without a moment's hesitation, he returned her kiss, feeling as if their hearts were beating as one, and that several hours may have possibly gone by without them knowing, because time seemed to have frozen still even though, surely, only thirty seconds had passed by. Either way, it was as if he had soared across the galaxy and back.

They broke apart. Not one of them said anything for a few moments, taking in what had just happened.

"You're right, Tai," Sora finally said. "It's no use making wishes every day. After all this time I saw no results, thinking that you probably just didn't like me… but, like you said… nothing was happening because neither of us were making anything happen on our own."

"I'm always right!" Tai grinned, making Sora giggle and roll her eyes. He intertwined his hand into hers, feeling her warmth surge throughout his body. "I'm just sorry it took so long for me to do anything about it."

She squeezed his hand, leaning towards his shoulder and resting her head against him. "Took me long enough, too."

They sighed softly, as they stared out the field, with the grass seemingly dancing along with the breeze. Tai could have sworn he saw the hurricane of dandelion seed heads pass by them again, floating up towards the sky. No more dandelion wishes were needed for either of them ever again. Tai smiled to himself, happy that this was the start of something rather beautiful (though he would never say that out loud. That's way too girly.). Though neither of them had to state it, they both felt the neutral agreement that whatever happens at their secret spot, doesn't always have to stay at their secret spot.

**Fin.**

* * *

**Author's note: **I hope the moral of the story is obvious because I tried to emphasize it throughout part two of this story, which explains why Tai's attempt to blow out all of the seeds failed. Ultimately, though, that doesn't mean anyone should give up hope if it seems like a wish isn't coming true! :) I know this could have been a one-shot, but I didn't want to make the one-shot TOO long, so that's why I split it up into two parts (plus I liked how dramatic the ending was for part one XD).I'm not sure how I could have expanded it to be any longer than this and I am quite satisfied with the results (because I had no idea what the ending would be, though the only thing I was sure of from the beginning was the last sentence.)

Be sure to please review and tell me what you think! Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks to Andrea and Valechan92 for the previous reviews and kind words! :)


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